Baron de Kusel (Bey) meets Sir Richard Burton in Egypt

Samuel Selig Kusel - later Baron de Kusel (Bey) - met Captain Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890), the famed English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, twice in Egypt. The first time was in 1877 when Burton came to Egypt to try to induce the Khedive Ismail Pasha to interest himself in a scheme in connection with the Gold Mines of Midian*," writes Kusel, " which unfortunately, after a certain amount of money had been expended, ended in smoke."

Kusel met Burton (pictured right and below) the second time in April 1878 when he returned from the Midian expedition.

"Lady Burton had arrived from Trieste to meet him him. I had the pleasure of making her acquaintance in Cairo.

"Sir Richard struck me as a wonderful man, with enormous personality, he reminded me of Gordon Pasha** in his frank outspokeness; his knowledge was amaing, and strangely enough he was very superstitious, which is a common failing among people who have lived and been intimately connected with the nations of the East.

"We conversed in Arabic, and I regret extremely that I did not see more of him. He had, I remember a favourite saying, viz. 'Shawir Hunna - wa Khalif Hunna,' which means -

"'Ask their advice, ye men of wit,
"'And always do the opposite.'"

Taken from 'An Englishman's Recollections of Egypt 1863 to 1887' by Baron de Kusel (Bey) and published in London, 1915 by The Bodley Head.

* Burton later published 'The Gold-Mines of Midian and The Ruined Midianite Cities. A Fortnight's Tour in Northwestern Arabia' (1878)
The Gold-Mines Of Midian And The Ruined Midianite Cities: A Fortnight's Tour In Northwestern Arabia
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Discovered the Kama Sutra, and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West
The Devil Drives: A Life of Sir Richard Burton
** This is a reference to Major-General Charles George Gordon (1833–1885), known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha and Gordon of Khartoum.

The Pyramids and Baron de Kusel (Bey): stupendous and full of mystery

More from 'An Englishman's Recollections of Egypt 1863 to 1887' by Baron de Kusel (Bey) and published in London, 1915 by The Bodley Head. Here he visits the Pyramids in 1864-65.

"There was no road to the Pyramids, only a narrow track, and along this our donkeys trotted at a very slow rate, except when prodded with a long stick by an Arab boy who ran behind each one of us, then their pace would increase slightly; but when the boys gave a certain yell they fairly galloped, and I am afraid all of us had two or three spills.

"We reached the Pyramids at last, and I for one was awestricken; they were so stupendous and full of mystery, and I realized then, that no account could ever make people understand the wonder of them. The Great Pyramid is 453 feet high; it cubes 2,600,000 yards, and it covers and area of more than eleven English acres. My friends stood and gazed and gazed without saying a word, for quite a considerable time., and then having arranged with the Sheikh, we proceeded to climb, or rather to be hauled up the enormous masses of stone; each one of us had two Arabs to assist him,, the two with me, magnificent men, with enormous muscular development, were named, I remember, Osman and Mohammed.

"They each gripped one of my arms, and practically swung me up tier after tier, until I was quite breathless, and had to cry a halt; a short rest, and then on again, until we reached the summit where we all stood, drinking in the beautiful exhilarating air, and gazing with rapt admiration at the scenery around us.

"Down at our feet our donkeys and boys looked like ants, and the path over which we had ridden like a thread of cotton, and further along the sweeping line of the Nile, and still further the city we had left that morning; on the other side lay the desert, vast and terrible - at least to me. Then, having gazed our fill, we started to descend, and that was almost worse than the ascent, for I grew giddy, and had it not been for my two Arabs I feel quite sure I would have fallen.

"We also explored the interior, which entailed much creeping and crawling, with one Arab in front to pull and the other behind to push, and at length we arrived in a chamber in which was a stone coffer, supposed to be the Sarcophagus of King Cheops; this chamber was about eighteen feet by twenty feet high. It was terribly hot, and the air was stifling; and when once more we reached the open air, I was was drenched with perspiration from head to foot, and the strain on my muscles had been so great that they found it necessary to lift me on to my donkey, and that intelligent animal, knowing no doubt that it was returning home, did not need any prodding.

"I had nearly forgotten to mention the Sphinx, which we naturally examined with attention; but I do not think that any of us felt the extreme awe that many people are supposed to feel at sight of this marvellous work, with its lion's body and man's head. "

Baron de Kusel (Bey): An Englishman's Recollections of Egypt 1863 to 1887

I have a fascinating book which I hope may well be of interest to visitors to Egyptology News Network. It is 'An Englishman's Recollections of Egypt 1863 to 1887' by Baron De Kusel (Bey) and published in London, 1915, by The Bodley Head.

Samuel Selig Kusel (the 'de' was an affectation added later in life) was born in Liverpool, England, on 12th June 1848, the son of naturalised German immigrants, and spent half his life living abroad, mostly in Egypt, then Italy, before returning to England in 1908-09 to settle in Surrey.

In Egypt, Samuel Selig Kusel worked as Controller-General of the Egyptian Customs. He was created a Bey by the ruling Turkish Khedive in Egypt in May 1882 in recognition of his services during the Egyptian crisis. (Bey roughly translates as the Turkish for chieftain.)

On the 17th May 1876, he married an Italian, Elvira Chini, of Leghorn (now Livorno), Italy, and Cairo. This connection explains the years spent living in Italy after he left Egypt.

On 23rd October 1890, Samuel Selig Kusel was created Barone Kusel by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Nothing appears to be known as to the reasons for the grant of the title. However, Queen Victoria (8th February 1893) granted a Royal License for him to assume and use this title in the United Kingdom.

Kusel, as the New York Times remarked in its review of his book on 24th October 1915, "seems to have known nearly everybody of consequence in Egypt, and he speaks of them in an offhand, easy way which shows a deep familiarity with all that had transpired in Egypt."

In later posts, I shall quote what Kusel has to say about the pyramids, the sphinx and the drama surrounding the sending of Cleopatra's Needle to England. He also met the mega rich brewery heir Sir Henry Meux and his wife Lady Valerie Meux in 1880 when they arrived on their yacht Vanadis in Alexandria. Lady Meux went onto created a stunning collection of Egyptian antiquities which she kept at her country house Theobald's Park, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. It seems Kursel play a part in the Lady Meux's collecting activities.

"I was also able to assist these visitors with the Egyptian Authorities, to procure a permit for the exportation of the different mummies and antiquities they had purchased in Cairo," the Baron wrote.

The Meux collection was auctioned following her death in 1910 and has effectivley vanished.

I have not yet been able to trace when Baron de Kusel (Bey) died, probably in England. But, at the age of 66, his heart remained in Egypt: "I hear the East a-calling. And the thought of the colour and sunny skies of the mysterious Nile and the gorgeous sunsets, makes me very sad and despondent and when the cold east wind cuts through me, I feel inclined to return once more to Egypt if only to hear that familiar cry of the East, 'Allah el Akbar La Illah, illa Allah wa ashhadwar Mohamadur Rasul il Allah'."